India will emerge from a bout of economic malaise with an annual growth rate of 8% in the coming years, according to India's finance minister, Palaniappan Chidambaram.

The minister, who is facing a general election in the coming months, said his government has laid the groundwork for solid growth, even as the International Monetary Fund predicts the country's growth rate won't top 7% between now and 2018.

Chidambaram predicted 6% growth in the upcoming fiscal year, rising to 7% the following year, before hitting the 8% mark.

Most forecasters expect India's economy grew by only 4% to5% in 2013, well below most previous years.

Chidambaram also warned that a new government could "muck up this whole thing."

"If they follow the path that we have laid down... then I think growth is assured," he said during a talk at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.